Is This Your Masked Man?
by LaCorelli
Summary: NWZ. Victoria finds herself in a strange, upside down dream world where she discovers that she either doesn't know as much as she thought or she knows a lot more than she suspects. But either way she's going to find out.
1. The Dream

**Disclaimer:** I'm not sure who owns all the rights to Zorro, but I do know it's not me. This is just for fun.

**Summary:** Victoria finds herself in a strange, upside down dream world where she discovers that she either doesn't know as much as she thought or she knows a lot more than she suspects.

**Author's Note**: This story was inspired by a scene from the movie _Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension_. For those unfamiliar with the series _Phineas and Ferb_, the incompetently evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz has a ridiculously hard time recognizing his nemesis, secret agent Perry the Platypus, when Perry isn't wearing his fedora (this makes sense in context). Anyway, in the movie there's a scene where the slightly more competently evil Doofenshmirtz from the other dimension is trying to get his other self to recognize the obvious, using pictures as visual aids. The last time I was watching, I just got this sudden flash of a Victoria from an alternate reality doing something similar for the Victoria from the series, and this is the result.

**Is This Your Masked Man?**

**The Dream**

This was the strangest dream Victoria had ever had. Without knowing how or why she had found herself in a Los Angeles very different from her own. The _alcalde_ was a stranger; Mendoza was running the tavern; and everyone kept calling her Doña Victoria and asking her if Don Diego had returned home yet. Not understanding these strange happenings, she somehow found herself in front of the de la Vega _hacienda_ and was most astonished when the door was opened by another version of herself, who invited her in very politely, seemingly not too surprised to meet herself.

They sat down in the library where Victoria de la Vega explained why she didn't think it was so strange. "Not that long ago Diego was telling me a theory about different decisions leading to different realities or something like that. So it doesn't seem too strange to me that someone might cross between them, like in stories where people wander into fairy realms." The other Victoria then shook her head slightly in embarrassment. "Though I must admit I wasn't actually paying much attention to what he was saying at the time. I was more interested in... well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you how very tempting Diego can be."

"Diego? Tempting?" Victoria asked incredulously.

"Very," Victoria de la Vega said with a reminiscent smile. "He can be absolutely irresistible, in fact."

Victoria was very confused. Her other self seemed very happy to be married to Diego, and yet she was wearing the very same ring that Zorro had given _her_ when he asked her to marry him.

"What's happened to Zorro?" Had he died? Was that why this Victoria married Diego?

"Oh, there hasn't been much need for Zorro lately," the other Victoria replied cheerfully. "It's been wonderful not having to worry about him riding deliberately out into danger. I prefer keeping him close to home. Though of course he still has to travel occasionally." She sighed a little. "He should be back soon though."

Now Victoria was even more confused and a little appalled. How could she be talking about them as if they held an equal place in her heart? She couldn't believe it of herself, even another version. "Are you in love with both of them?" she asked, a hint of shock in her voice.

Now the other Victoria looked confused. "Both of them?" she asked. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"Diego and Zorro. How can you be married to one and still be... involved with the other?" Victoria asked indignantly.

Victoria de la Vega started laughing before she seemed to realize that Victoria was serious. With a disbelieving look, she said, "Wait. You honestly think Zorro and Diego are two different people?"

"Of course." This seemed to be a very strange world in which she'd found herself. "Diego may be my best friend, but he's nothing like Zorro. He's nice and kind, but Zorro... Zorro's romantic and heroic. I like Diego, but I'm in love Zorro."

"You love... Zorro, but not... Diego," Victoria de la Vega said slowly, as if finding it impossible to digest such a bizarre idea. After a long moment, she stood up and crossed the room where she pulled out a couple of pictures from beside the desk. Walking back, she placed the first picture on an empty easel that stood near the sofa.

"Now, is this a picture of the Zorro you know?" she asked pointing at it with a thin rod she took off the easel. Her tone was that of a teacher trying to understand a particularly dull pupil.

Victoria looked at the picture carefully. It was an excellent likeness of Zorro. "Yes. That's him," she said confidently.

Her other self furrowed her brow in puzzlement before putting the second picture next to the first. "So, is this the Diego you know?" Victoria de la Vega asked.

"That's Diego," Victoria affirmed. They were both truly excellent likenesses; the artist had been exceptionally gifted.

Victoria de la Vega looked first at the pictures, then at her other self and back to the pictures again. "And you don't see any similarity, at all?" she asked incredulously.

"Should I?" Victoria was confused. Looking at the pictures, the only significant thing seemed to be that both men had been painted in identical poses, but that was hardly a notable similarity. What was she missing?

The other Victoria slapped the nearest table with the pointer. "Yes, you should." She looked up at the ceiling as if imploring the heavens for patience for dealing with this peculiar version of herself. "Why am I so blind in this other world?" she said before taking a deep breath and looking at Victoria again. "Did you fall and hurt your head when a child? Do your eyes bother you? Blurriness? Double vision? Anything like that?"

"My vision is just fine. I just don't get your point."

Hitting the table again in irritation, Victoria de la Vega said, "No wonder you're not married in your world. Two men— tall, blue-eyed, mustaches, same charming smile, same magnificent..." She broke off and got a far away look for a moment before coughing and continuing in a different vein. "Always there when you need him... and you haven't made the connection?"

"You're telling me Diego is Zorro," Victoria said, still disbelieving.

"Yes. Yes, I am," Victoria de la Vega replied impatiently. "The minute I first saw him in that black outfit, I knew. It was obvious. He'd just returned from Spain; there wasn't a man in the territory who could compare with him. I don't know why every one else was fooled, but I certainly wasn't. We've been married almost three years."

"No, this is impossible. He just can't be Zorro," Victoria said stubbornly.

The other Victoria rolled her eyes in frustration. "Have you ever paid attention to how Diego gets information that Zorro uses later? Or how they both quote the same authors? Or heard how they both sound when they're angry? More importantly, have you ever seen them together face to face? Or even given them both a serious look? Especially Diego. I'm sure if you had you wouldn't be able to deny the truth."

Victoria tried to think of something to say. This just seemed incredible to her. As she sat there, dumbfounded, she heard the front door of the _hacienda_ open. Although she wasn't able to see who was coming in, her other self was, and smiling brightly, she ran towards the door. Although somehow she knew she shouldn't be, Victoria was startled by what sounded like Zorro's voice exclaiming, "_Querida!_"

Cautiously, moving to look around the corner, she saw the other Victoria throwing her arms around what appeared to be Diego, who returned her embrace with equal enthusiasm, lifting her off her feet, before kissing her soundly, completely oblivious to the fact that anyone else was in the vicinity. Victoria had a hard time recognizing the Diego she knew in the man she saw there. He looked like Diego but seemed more like Zorro.

Growing embarrassed at seeing the pair kissing so passionately, Victoria started backing away, when she tripped and fell backwards, hitting the floor with an enormous thud. Everything went black for a moment, then Victoria sat up, to find herself in her own bed, confused as to how she got there.

It took a few moments to get herself reoriented. She shook her head at the dream. Diego as Zorro. What a bizarre thought. It was impossible. Wasn't it? She'd know. Wouldn't she? But still... that last image of Diego was still clear in her mind. They were a bit similar, weren't they? But how could he have fooled her for so long? Hitting her pillow in frustration, Victoria lay back and stared at the ceiling. This was ridiculous. However, it wouldn't hurt to look at Diego more closely, just to be sure. Tomorrow, she'd start tomorrow. And with that thought, Victoria tried to go back to sleep.

NOT QUITE THE END


	2. After the Dream

**Author's Note:** I was a bit surprised that most of the reviews wanted to find out what Victoria did the next day. I probably shouldn't have been; if I hadn't written it, I probably would have wondered myself, so I decided that everyone who asked for a little more had a point and decided to give it a try.

However, while I was writing this story, it really was all about another Victoria pointing out the obvious to this Victoria. In fact, the part with the pictures was written first and then I had to find a beginning and an ending to go with that scene. I do have a problem finding the right endings. Also, I really don't think Victoria is as oblivious as I wrote her (Victoria de la Vega was easier to write), so I wasn't sure exactly how to continue this. However, I had two strokes of luck: an orphaned scene looking for a story to belong to and a suggestion from my mother who just happened to be visiting while I was trying to figure this out. Between the two of them, I found what I needed to finish this. And it is finished. I absolutely positively cannot write another word on this one. It was really just meant to be a fluffy little one-shot, and now it's a fluffy little two-shot.

**After the Dream**

Victoria got up in the morning determined to deal with the disturbing notion that Diego was Zorro. While always grateful when the _alcalde_ was absent, Victoria was even more than usually thankful that de Soto had left yesterday for Monterey in order to explain to the governor exactly why he'd shot the king's emissary. With de Soto gone, there wasn't another person in the _pueblo _who really wanted to know who Zorro was, and thus she was unlikely to be endangering his life by discovering his secret.

She looked out the window. It was raining. Victoria hoped that wasn't going to keep Diego from coming into town— not when she was determined to set her mind at rest, one way or another.

The rain kept away many of her customers, which left Victoria a lot of time to think. She started scrubbing her tables, determined that she was not going to spend her time thinking about Diego or Zorro.

She was not going to think about the fact that no one in the _pueblo_ other than Diego was even close to Zorro's height. She was not going to think about their blue eyes, or the fact that on the few occasions Diego had actually looked her directly in the eyes, she'd been as affected as when Zorro did the same. She also was not going to think about how Diego would always defend her in his own way as fiercely as Zorro did in his.

Victoria was relieved when Mendoza and Sepulveda came in for lunch, so she could stop thinking about what she was determined not to think about. It seemed like a miracle that she didn't burn anything. Glancing out the window once she'd served them their meals, she was glad to see that the rain had stopped, though the sky was still overcast. She hoped that Diego would risk riding into town.

She started wiping glasses, considered whether or not it would be a good idea to close the tavern early and just head out to the de la Vegas' _hacienda_. The two soldiers finished their lunch and headed out of the tavern, leaving Victoria alone. Taking the dishes to the kitchen, she decided that there really wasn't much point in keeping the tavern open until siesta. Just as she was about to go lock the door, she heard it open and sighed a little. _So much for that idea_, she thought. She stepped through the curtain and froze when she saw who'd walked in.

It was Diego, and she saw him as if for the first time, and suddenly it was obvious— the most obvious thing in the world. _Maybe I did hit my head as a child_ was the first thought that went through her mind. After that, she did what she tended to do in the presence of an unmasked Zorro; she fainted.

She didn't know how long she was unconscious. The first thing she was aware of was a cool cloth on her forehead, then vaguely that someone was speaking before realizing it was Diego. She opened her eyes to find herself staring at Diego's ruffled shirt. He was kneeling on the floor holding her. Looking up at him and seeing the concern and love in his eyes, she cursed herself for being an idiot for so long. She reached up one hand to touch his face. Almost absently, she traced the line of his jaw, trying to absorb the realization that she'd been in love with him for almost five years without knowing it.

"Victoria?" Diego asked, a little shakily. He looked confused and worried, but there was also something else in his expression that she couldn't quite decipher.

Victoria dropped her hand to grab the cloth on her head. She had no idea what to do now. To gain time to think, she said, "What happened?"

"You fainted," he said, helping her to sit up.

She couldn't keep her eyes off him. He actually started to look uncomfortable at her stare.

"Can I get you some water?" he asked.

"No, I think I just need to sit for a minute," Victoria said, clutching at his arm, leaning against him slightly.

She closed her eyes for a moment, as she started feeling a little giddy from her emotions, almost drunk in fact. Pushing upward, she stood up a little unsteadily with Diego helping her. She leaned back against the wall and looked up at him. He was still holding her arms, as if he was afraid she'd collapse again.

Vaguely, she was reminded of that long past evening in the de la Vega garden, when they'd first kissed. Oh, she had been stupidly inattentive then. She should have known what he'd meant. She stared into his eyes, wondering if she should just tell him she knew.

He looked at her, still concerned. "Victoria, maybe you should lie down for a while. You still don't look well."

Finally, from where she didn't know, she got an idea of what to say. Maybe it was because she still felt light-headed, but she decided to go ahead. If it went badly, she could always claim she'd been delirious.

"No, I don't need to lie down," she said, before taking a deep breath and continuing, while never taking her eyes from his face, "Diego, I've been thinking. You should have a wife. Someone..." She stopped as she saw his eyes widen in recognition, followed in rapid succession by fear and hope. She smiled at him; she hoped reassuringly.

Diego closed his eyes for a moment as if trying to come to a decision. It seemed to Victoria an eternity before he opened his eyes, took a deep breath of his own, and said, nervously, "Someone like you?"

Relieved but determined not to make the same mistake he had, she shook her head slightly. "No," she said firmly. "Not _like_ me. Me."

He'd flinched a little when she'd shaken her head, but now a large grin spread across his face, and pulling her closer, he said, "I think you're right." Then he leaned down and kissed her.

~Z~Z~Z~

Six months later, a tired but happy Victoria fell asleep in her husband's arms. She'd been surprised how easily it had been to convince everyone that she was tired of waiting for Zorro and had fallen in love with Diego. It probably helped that Diego's feelings for her had been more obvious to others than they'd been to her, and that there'd been no real reason for Zorro to ride for some time. They'd been married four months and had just found out that she was pregnant. It had been a wonderful day for them both.

In her dreams, she found herself again in front of the de la Vega _hacienda_, this time not at all surprised when the other Victoria opened the door.

"You know now, don't you?" she said, inviting her in.

After sitting down, Victoria said sheepishly, "Yes. I'm sorry about how silly I was before."

"Are you married yet?" the other Victoria asked.

"Yes, and I've found out just how right you were," Victoria said confidentially.

"About what?"

"About how irresistible Diego can be," Victoria finished with a smile.

THE END


End file.
